JBS is closing a California meat-packing facility in Riverside
Meat processing company JBS is closing a packing plant in Riverside and will lay off 374 employees, according to an announcement from California. Employment Development Department.
The closure comes as limited cattle supplies have led to record-high beef prices this year.
JBS subsidiary Swift Beef Co., JBS spokeswoman Nikki Richardson said. He said the Riverside facility, operated by Inc., prepares meat for sale in U.S. grocery stores but does not slaughter animals.
Richardson said affected employees will be given opportunities, including relocation support, at other JBS plants. Employees who choose not to relocate will be given a 60-day notice period before their employment ends.
Beef prices have risen in recent months as farmers cut off their herds due to drought in rangeland and a parasite known as the screwworm, which has forced the U.S. to halt imports of Mexican beef. Last month, meat processing giant Tyson Foods has closed one of its largest beef processing plants in Nebraska.
JBS said production at its Riverside facility will be transferred to other company facilities without interrupting customer supply or service.
The transition is expected to be completed early next year, the company said.
“JBS is committed to supporting impacted team members throughout this transition,” Richardson said in a statement. “The company continues to focus on providing high-quality products and reliable service while strengthening its operational footprint to meet evolving market demands.”
The closure of the Riverside facility is part of a broader company strategy to optimize and simplify its operations. Shares of JBS were down less than 1% in Monday trading and have remained flat this year, up about 2% since January.
The company has its US headquarters in Greeley, Colo. facilities and offices throughout Europe and Australia.
The landscape is also changing in California’s oil industry, with Valero Energy Corp. planning to shut down a major refinery in the state by spring 2026.
Last year, Chevron moved its headquarters from San Ramon, Calif., to Houston, citing tough business regulations in the Golden State. This year, the last plant in California that turned sugar beets into sugar closed, eliminating hundreds of jobs in the Imperial Valley.
California’s job growth was just 2% from the second quarter of 2022 to the second quarter of this year, ranking 48th among all states, according to an economic forecast released this month by Chapman University.
The state lost consecutive jobs from June to September. The state is also expected to add 62,000 jobs next year.
California also experienced a net population outflow of more than 1 million residents from 2021 to 2023, with the top five destinations being states with zero or very low state income taxes: Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and Florida, the report said.
